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The Ethical Rulings Of Drinking In The Bible
While some sections of the Bible are designed to give a historical perspective of drinking, and others use drinking to help illustrate a point, there are some places in the Bible that specifically deal with the ethics of drinking. One of these that stand out is Proverbs 31: 29-35. It says:
"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 'They hit me,' you will say, 'but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?'"
Verse 29 and 30
This verse is an explanation of the sorrow and the pain that is felt, more of an interjection than an actual question. It explains that pain of those who have a habit of drinking too much.
Verses 31 and 32
These verses sound poetical, but they explain how innocuous a glass of Dolcetto (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Dolcetto/) appears, yet how it holds great pain in its after effects.
Verse 33
This is meant to be as a warning of what happens when someone becomes drunk. It speaks to the hallucinations that occur when someone has had too much to drink and how the alcohol can play with their mind. Hallucinations while drinking have also been seen in other areas of literature, leading to the presumption that it has been a problem for some time.
Verse 35
There is no one mentioned in the Bible who actually hit a drunk person, and therefore, this is often attributed to the other drunkards who accompany him, perhaps he is getting bruises from stumbling and falling due to his physical impairments caused by drinking.
Similar language is used elsewhere in the Bible, and can be used to describe everything from wickedness to Demons to Satan himself. However, because of the ranting and half-awake phrases, it seems that the drunkard is attacked by visions in his own mind.
Highlighting the evil
The words in this passage highlight the struggle of the drunkard. While we may feel pity for him after reading it, there are many more just like him enduring the same suffering on a daily basis who have a few too many glasses of Barbera the night before.
It also shows that alcohol and its overconsumption is not a new problem - it has been going on for thousands of years. Not only was it a social, personal, and moral concern in Christ's day and earlier, it still remains a concern today. From verses like these, it becomes clear that the Bible does not condone drunkenness, and therefore does not condone the drinking of alcoholic beverages.
About the Author Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in the history of cuisine, wine, and religion. For an amazing variety of wine varietals such as Barbera and Dolcetto, please visit http://www.wineaccess.com/.
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